Several people who live in an apartment building in Colorado Springs are currently without heat, and have been since Thursday.
A broken boiler has left half of the multi-building apartment complex called the Lookout at Broadmoor off 8th Street in the cold. Residents reached out to News 5 for help as they have no idea when it will be turned back on.
When Daniel Garcia turns the heat on in his apartment on the fourth floor, it blows cold air into his living room. He's doing what he can to stay warm.
"I've been wearing layers; many, many layers. You know, sticking by the heaters, hot soups, hot teas," Garcia said.
His aunt let him borrow a space heater. That, coupled with video games keeping his mind off his discomfort, are helping him get through this long cold weekend.
Garcia, who is an attorney, says he is concerned for his neighbors who may not know their rights.
"This is a public health issue now. So there's quite a few immigrant families that live here, disabled folks, elderly folks because it is one of the few affordable areas. But it seems like the only reason why is because they're unwilling to pay people to be here to fix things," Garcia said of the property management company, ConAm.
News 5 called and emailed multiple people at the company. Vice President of Southwest Sales, Teresa Nicklas responded ConAm declines to comment.
Colorado's Habitability Law protects tenants in situations like these. The law requires landlords to provide functioning heat to tenants but they don't have to fix anything until a landlord receives a written request for repairs. If the repair affects health and safety, the law requires landlords to respond within 24 hours.
Colorado Legal Services advises tenants to continue to pay rent to avoid eviction and keep all correspondence with the landlord or property management company.
The law states a landlord has five days to make repairs and if they are not made by then, a tenant can send written notice of a plan to terminate the lease citing the outstanding repair.
Tenants should reach out to the health department or their city's Code Enforcement and file a complaint so there is record of the situation.
Colorado Legal Services offers next steps for tenants who, depending on the situation, have the option to sue the management company and give notice they are moving out. Tenants should seek legal guidance for their situations as this report is not intended to serve as legal advice.
The last communication with tenants from the Lookout at Broadmoor property management company, ConAm, was on Friday, January 12, Garcia said. It was via an email offering residents blankets and space heaters.
The email obtained by News 5 states, "We are closely monitoring the temperatures in the building and working on a plan in the event we are unable to repair the heating. Please keep an eye out for further updates."
Garcia is not the only resident frustrated with the lack of heat in the building.
"Friday evening, maintenance came knocking at the door, asked if we need heaters. I requested two of them. They are 'this' big and it's not keeping us warm at all," Amanda Plante said.
Plante referenced the small size of the space heaters provided and said she feels uncomfortable leaving them on overnight so it's difficult to sleep when it is so cold. She said she and her fiance considered leaving for the weekend to warm up.
"I wish we could. We are alone out here. We have no family. We really don't have extra money to go get a hotel room or anything like that. Trust me, we thought about that," Plante said.
